Whoa! Wind, waterslides, oh my!
Nice way to end an epic hike - watersliding!
This was super fun, and super slick! I got launched into the pool - catching myself with my hands and going up to my waist! We’d just hiked with Mom and Richard from the Ko’olau Golf Course (and the First Pres Church) all the way up to the Pali Lookout and back! What fun to explore the ancient (circa 1850s) carriage road, then the Old Pali Road, and finally see the “new” Pali Hwy just below us as we gazed across Kaneohe all the way to Chinaman’s Hat (with Ben saying “take kayaks out” when he saw it). (For a great pictorial history of the route over the Pali, see http://www.pacificworlds.com/nuuanu/memories/memory5.cfm We didn’t exactly set out to go that far - when I’m hiking with folks new to me on the trail, I never plan on how far we are going to go. We just play it by ear. With all Richard’s joking about already being tired only .25 miles into it, I was thinking we’d be lucky to make it to the carriage road. Turns out, he later tells us after charging right up the trail, that only about 20% of what he says is true. Good to know! Mom is a real trooper hiking in slippery Crocs (without even having the back strap behind her heel, but she gets so much unsolicited advice on the trail about which stick to use and what root to grab I decided not to mention that little nugget as I’m not sure it’d help anyway). Sam led almost the entire hike, and really set a good pace for all of us. Ben actually hiked the entire way from Pali Lookout down to the parking lot (3 miles). I really couldn’t believe it but he was fine, hiking at just our pace, and did NOT want to be picked up (”Ben down!” “Ben walk!”). It was just shy of 1000′ elevation gain over 6 miles roundtrip. Everyone earned their lunches! Ben was so excited he skipped nap afterwards (huh???) and Sam ate more than I did. What a great day full of views, dense jungle, history, and good exercise. I had a blast doing that waterslide!
Hahahaha! Great way to amuse me with a nugget I’d missed getting on the trail. Hahahaha! *Grin* The surprise, for me, was that my trekking pole has a rubber tip! That slip and slide Hawaii mud is always taunting grammas to see if it can take them down, and when my trekking pole slipped out from under me, I knew this would be an “interesting” hike! Thank goodness for some ropes left by previous hikers. And good foliage I could grab, all the while wondering if I was perhaps disturbing one of those gigantic centipedes we grow over here!
Funfunfun… looked like jackass ginger pools for a second. Thought I’d catch up on your adventures… A hui hou neighbor.
what a great trip!!! sounds like a classic burly hike! such tough lil’ soldiers you are raising! so nice to hear about these adventures! -TIMMAY
Have you done the Maunawili Falls/Pool hike? It’s a fun one, but NOT for small kids. Wait until they are older (assuming you are still there) and do it. There are some great jumps from the rocks into the pool. Yes there are risks involved, so check out the pool first to ensure you know where you can jump safely. Oh and bring a ton of mosquito repellent too.
Allison, you have so many fun adventures! With all these pictures you kids will have many memories of wonderful times in HI. Love to see and read about them. Love, Marilou/Grammie